Clock



A. W. FOWLER CLOCK Oct. 10, 1933.

Filed Dec. '10, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet` l A. W. FOWLER Oct. 10, 1933.

CLOCK v Filed Dec. 10, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /67/4/20 WHW/ef Patented Oct. 10, 1933 f i y CLOCK Anm` 'wjrowlea Highland, `111.

Application December 10, 1931 Serial No. 580,045

. This invention relates tofclocks. Y

' Objects of the invention are to provide gearing for Winding the main spring of a clock, an electrically controlled oscillating device for Winding the springto a condition to operate theclock, andan improved mechanism for preventing vsaid device from overwinding the spring; and tofimprove the mechanism controllingthe extent to which the spring maybe wound by providing a positive drive for said mechanism as contrasted with the mechanism disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 568,280, led October 12,1931.

Otherobjects 'will appear from the following -K description, reference being made to the accom- "Fig, 1 is a Vievvof the cl'ockrnechanismV having the shafts being shownin section, and'the'device` that operates 'the gearing to Wind the clock vspring e being in position to operate said gearing. i n Fig. 4 is a View' similar to Fig. 3 `with other partsV removed and showing the Winding mechanism inthe position it occupies after an eii'ective i winding movement thereof.

the controldevice for preventing overwinding of the spring. y k y Fig. 6is a sectional vievv of part of the circuit A closer mechanism illustrating the devicesbywhich thegear actuating device of thefspring winding i mechanism-controls the'electric circuit.

Thetimeindicating mechanism of the clocliis operated bya gear Wheell mounted for rotation` on and about a'rotary shaft 2. The usualhands Yof the clock (not shown) are mounted` on spindles y3 4 rotated at different speeds by familiar trains'of gearingoperated by the gear Wheel 1. A spring 5 has one endattached to a drum while theshaft`2 remains stationary. i

The present invention comprises mechanism' for" winding and: tensioningv the spring 5f andY maintaining saidfspring 5 at approximately uni- 's claims. (CL-195mm)L form tension at all times. Further, the invention comprises meansr for maintainingr an approximately uniform storage of power and energy in the spring5, so that in event of interruption of the frequent operation of the Winding mechanism, said spring 5 Will continue to operate the clock for a considerable period of time. This prevents theclock from stopping in event of the interruption of the continuity of electric energy;` A gear Wheel 'l is attached to the shaft 2 and 65 is in constant mesh with a pinion 9 attached t a rotary shaft l0. A ratchet gear 11-A isattached to the shaft 10 adjacent to a lever.1`2havin`g a hub 13 pivoted on said` shaft.' A pin l14 attached f to the lever l2 projects therefrom parallel with T0' the shaft 10. A pawl 15v pivoted von asupport 16 engages the peripheral teeth on the ratchet wheel Y 11 and prevents said* ratchet wheel from being turned in a reverse direction by the power and energy ofthe spring 5 exerted through the shaft 2, the gear 7, the spindle 9`, alnd the-,shaft 101 kA paWl 17 pivotally supportedk by the leve 12 is held in engagement with' the. peripherallteet. Y,

ofthe ratchet Wheeleillviby a spring 18. ',Thu`s, the lever 12 and the" pawl 17 constitute means 80'r for rotating the ratchet` wheelllk and thereby the shaft 10, the spindle 9, the gear;wh'eel 7' i and the shaft 2 effectively to wind the spring l Fig. '5 is an enlarged detailjsectional view show- Y 30A ing the gearing forvvinding the .clock spring and' `An` electro-magnet fdevice 1`9` is mounted connection with thev .clock andhas cores' 20 85 Awhich are energized when the electric Acircuit v.the electro-magnet 19` and saidV magnet is elecrtrically connected with the frame of the clock byawire22. 4 f

' Ametallic lever 23 is pivotally supported by a pivot 24 and at its lower end supports a-me-v tallic member. 25. A metallic? spring 26 is attachedl to the side of the `metallic member 25 95 Y that is toward the cores or armatures 20 and-said spring is effective when the electric circuit is broken to impart an impulse to the lower'end of the lever'23 to initiate-a movement tok separate'the` member 25 `from the armatures 20.

The .otheriwire 27 of the electric circuit is connected with a metallic terminal fastener plate 28 attached to and insulated from the upper end of the lever 23.` The upper end. ,of the y lever 23 has a laterallybent portion 29. Me-` 105 tallic screws 30 pass through the .metallic terminal plate 28 through insulationf'plugs 31 through an insulation plate 3'2I andare engaged WithA a metallic plate 33; Thus,` the metallic x plateVA 28A is in electrical communication 'with the T10 PATENT OFFICE i ,d

,tact member 34;

plate 33 through the screws 30, but is out of electrical communication with the lever 23 and the part 29 of said lever.

A metallic contact member 34 (Figs. 3 and 8) is attached to the metallic plate 33 and thus in electrical communication with the metallic terminal plate 28 and is out of electrical communication With the lever 23. This is true because the insulation plugs 31 support the screws 30 out of electrical 'communication with the part 29 of the lever 23.

An actuator 35 is attached to the free end of the lever 12. As shown, this actuator is a weight, which is suflicient to operate the lever 12 downwardly and thereby rotate the ratchet wheel 1l in a direction to wind the spring 5 in the manner described, whenever said lever 12 is raised and said spring is tensioned or wound below a predetermined minimum.

The lever 23 occupies an inclined position, so that the weight of the parts 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 atl the upper end of said lever is utilized as an actuator to actuate said lever to a position and to an extent in which the member is spaced from the ends of the cores or armatures 20.V So long as the wire 27 is out of electrical communication with the frame of the clock, the electro-magnet 19 will not be energized. The means for placing the wire 27 in electrical communication with the frame of the` clock andthus closing the circuit and energizing the electro-magnet 19 is an important feature of the present invention.

` The relationship of the parts is such that when the part 35 is seated upon its supporting rest 36, the pin 14 is in contact with the con- Thus, Whenever therlever 12 moves downwardly to the full extent that it may move, the electric circuit is automatically closed, the electro-magnet 19 is energized, the lever 23 is thereby operated by moving the lower end of said lever toward the cores or armatures 20 and moving the upper end of said lever in a direction and to an extent to raise the lever 12 from its lower position, shown in Fig. 14, to its upperposition, shown in Figs. 1,

3 and 6. The pin 14 is utilized as a crank against which the contact member 34 presses and opcrates as required to raise the free end of the lever 12. This action of the lever 23 whenever vthe electro-magnet 19 is energized is sudden,

so that a quick impulse is imparted to the combined crank and contact pin 14 sufficient to throw vsaid contact pin considerably beyond and out of contact therewith and substantially to the position shown'inFig. 3. This breaks the electric circuit and permits the lever 12 to move downwardly as the spring 5 unwinds until said lever again moves the pin 14 into contact with the member 34, whereupon the operation is repeated.

My invention comprises means limiting extent to which the spring 5 may unwind and also limiting the extent to which said spring may be wound f up. The means for thus limiting and controlling extent of winding and unwinding of the spring 5 comprises vmechanism associated and combined with the wheels 1 and 11. This mechanism is operated by the wheel 1 so as to stop further rotation of said wheel l1 and thereby stop further winding of the spring 5 when said spring 5 is wound a predetermined extent. Said mechanism is operated by the Wheel 1 to release the Wheel 11 and permit further operation of the spring winding mechanism when the spring unwinds a predetermined extent.

A hub 37 is rigidly attached to the wheel 1 for rotation thereby and is exteriorly threaded. A gear wheel 38 is screwed on the hub 37. The gear wheel 38 has the saine diameter as the gear wheel 7 and is in constant mesh with a long pinion 39 attached to the shaft 10. The pinion 39 is of the same diameter as the pinion 9.

A brake element 40 is mounted for sliding movements in the clock frame member 41 and has its axis parallel with the axes of the shafts 2 and 10. An end 42 of the brake element 40 is adapted to be moved into and out of frictional engagement with the ratchet wheel 11. The end of the brake element 40 opposite from the end 42 is adjacent to a presser plate 42 supported for sliding movements along the shaft 10 and the hub 37. The lower end of the plate 42 is alongside of the hub 38 of the gear wheel 38.

It is now clear that when the shaft 10 is rotated by the operating mechanism, both of the gears 7 and 38 are rotated in the same direction and at the same rate of speed. Rotation of the gear 7 rotates the shaft 2 and thereby winds the spring 5 while rotation of the gear 38 screws said gear along the hub 37 and causes the hub 38 of said gear to press against the plate 42 and actuate said plate to force the clutch brake element 40 into frictional braking engagement with the ratchet wheel 11. The` parts are arranged in such relationshipthat when the spring 5 is wound to a predetermined degree of tension beyond which no further winding of the spring is to be permitted, the brake element 40 has engaged the ratchet wheel 11 with suicient force and pressure to prevent rotation of said wheel l1 by the actuating Ymechanism.

Rotation of the gear wheel 1, which operates the time indicating mechanism of the clock, is continued by the spring 5 and the threaded hub 37 is rotated by said gear wheel 1 while the ratchet wheel 11 is held by the brake element 40 from rotation. The pinions 9 and 39 also remain stationary so long as the ratchet wheel 11 remains stationary. Accordingly, both gear wheels 7 and 38 are held from rotation. The fact that the gear wheel 38 is held stationary while the threaded hub 37 is rotating causes the threads whereby the hub 37 engages the gear wheel 38 to move said gear wheel 38 along the hub 37 toward the wheel 1, thus releasing the brake member 40 after said gear wheel 38 has moved a predetermined extent toward the gear wheel 1. After the brake member 40 has been released, the actuator 12-35 may again operate effectively to rotate the ratchet wheel 11 and thereby the shaft 10, the pinions 9 and 39, and gears 7 and 38 while thegear 1 is held by the familiar clock gearing from rotation Vwith the gears 7 and 38.

As shown, extent of downwardvmovement of the lever 12 is limited by the supporting rest 36 and extent of upward .movement of said lever is limited by a yielding abutment 43.

As shown in Fig. 3, the lever 23 is supported in its idle or unoperated position by a spring 44 on said lever engaging a stationary support 45 mounted on the clock frame. The lever 12 will move downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 3 until the contact pin 14 is moved into contact with the contactmember 34 to close the circuit through the electro-magnet. The spring 44 is shown supporting the lever 23 inorder that the pin 14 will contact with the contact member 34 before the part 35 engages the support 36.

Such contact of the' contact members `14 and 34 closesthe electric circuit and causes the electromagnet 19` to become energizedj; The-lever 23 is thereupon operated andthe pin `l4'and its relationship to the lever 12 are utilized as acrank device to 'raise the lever 12 to its upperposition` against the yielding abutment 43. As statedbefore, this operation of the lever 23 is quick and sudden, so that the pin 14 is thrown beyond and out of contact with the contact member 34, thus breaking the circuit and permitting the spring 26 to move the member 25v immediately out of contact with the core or armature member 20. This also moves the upper end of the member 23 to its unoperated position in which thevspring 44 engages the abutment 45. The pawl 17 is constantly engaged with the ratchet wheel 11. The actuator device 35-12 moves downwardly until the spring 5 is wound tothe predetermined tension, or until the contact pin 14 is engaged with the contact member 34, or until the brake. member 40 engages lever 23 to move the lever l2 to a position in which it will operate the train of gearing to rewind the spring; and these winding operations continue until the spring 5 is rewound to the proper degree of tension, or until further operation of the winding operation is stopped and prevented by the brake device-i0. Consequently the invention obtains all of its stated and other vintended objects and purposes in a highly efficient and satisfactory manner and may be varied as widely as the scope of equivalent limits will permit without departure from the nature and principle of the invention. I'do not restrict myself in any unessential respects, but what I claimrand desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Mechanism of the character described comprising a shaft, a gear supported forfrotation around said shaft, a spring connecting said gear and said shaft, an additional shaft supported parallel with said first shaft, mechanism for rotating said additional shaft, gearing operated by said additional shaft for rotating said rst shaft to wind said spring, a gear having threaded connection with said first gear, means for'rotating said second gearby said second shaft, and means operated by said second gear for preventing operation of said mechanism.

2. In a clock having a shaft, a lgear wheel supported for rotation around said shaft, and a spring for rotating said gear wheel and having one end attached'to said shaft and the'other attached to said wheel; a threaded hub rigid with said gear Wheel, a gear screwed on said hub, ashaft parallel with said rst shaft, mechanism for rotating said second shaft, gearing operated by said second shaft for simultaneously rotating said first shaft and said second gear wheel relative to said first gearwheel to wind said spring, and a device operated by said second gear wheel for stopping operation of said `mechanism when said 1 spring connecting said shaft andsaid gear wheel forr rotatingjsaid gear wheelwhile saidl shaft remains stationary; .gearing forl rotating Vsaid shaft to wind said spring, a second gear Wheel,` a

threaded hub lrigid with said first gear wheel f screwed'into said second'gear wheel, gearing .for

rotating. said second gear wheel'simultaneously` l Y with the rotation of said shaft by said first gearing and for holding saidsecond gear wheel against rotation by said first gear wheel, a'shaft for rotating said two gearings, and a device 0peratedV bysaid second gearwheel for limiting extent of` rotation ofsaid second gear wheel and preventing overwinding of said spring.

4. In av clock, a shaft, a gear wheel mounted for rotation around said shaft, a spring connecting said gear wheel and said shaft, a Winding gear attached to said shaft, a driving shaft parallel withsaid rst shaft, mechanism for rotating said driving shaft, a pinion attached'v to said Vdriving shaft for rotating said winding gear and f thereby said first shaft to wind said spring, an

ladditional pinion rigidv on said drivingshaft, a

controlling gear wheel meshing with said additional pinion, a threaded hub rigidwith said first gear Wheel on which said controlling gear wheel is screwed, and means operated by saidcontrolling gear wheel controlling rotation of said additional shaft.

. 5. In a clock having a shaft, a gear wheel supported for rotation around Y said shaft, and a spring for rotating said` gear wheel and having one end attached to said shaft and the other endA attached to said gear wheel; a threaded hub rigid with said gear wheel, a gear screwed on said hub, a shaft. parallel with said first shaft, gearing operated by said second shaft for simultaneously rotating said first shaft and said gear relative to said gear wheel to wind said spring and to move i said gear along said huband an. element operated by said gear into engagementv with a part of said, gearing to stop operation of said gearing when said spring has been wound to a predetermined degree of tension,

6. In a clock having av shaft, a gear wheel loosely mounted on said shaft for rotation around said shaft, and a spring engaging said gearA wheel and said shaft for rotating said gear wheel; a

threadedhub'rigid with said gearv wheel, a gear screwed on said hub, a driving shaft parallel with said rst shaft, `mechanism for rotating said driving'shaft, gearing koperated by said driving shaft for rotating said first shaft to wind said spring, additional gearing operated by 'said drivf ing shaft for rotating said gear that is screwed onsaid sub, and a device operated by said last named gear controlling operation of said mechanism.

ated by said mechanism for tensioning said spring, and a device operated by said gear for stopping operation of said operating means when said spring has been wound to a predetermined degree of tension.` f

8. In a clock, a rotarygear wheel, a spring for rotating said gear wheel, a threaded hub rigid with and rotated by' said gear wheel, a gear screwed on said hub, mechanism holdingv said gear from rotating and causing said gear to screw along said hub toward said gear wheel when said gear wheel is rotating and said mechanism is stationary, means for rotating said mechanism to 3,5 rotate said gear and cause said gear to screw along said hub in a direction away from said gear ARNO W. FOWLER. 

